Students currently pay higher fees for courses that lead to jobs with typically higher wages. But not all students find, or want, a job in their area of study. Should all students then pay the same amount for their university degree?

Do students know what they’re getting in to when they take on debt?
DonkeyHotey/FlickrAgustus 3, 2015

The HECS revolution remains seriously incomplete because it does not extend to many parts of the vocational education and training sector - which still suffers from the scourge, hostility and unfairness of upfront fees.

Shorten is right to see the importance in science, technology and maths, but his policies don’t have proven efficacy.
AAP/Lucas CochMei 17, 2015

A heavy focus of Bill Shorten's budget reply speech was preparing for the future with science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. While this focus is a step in the right direction, the policies probably aren't the right way to go about it.

Students living overseas should have to repay their loans.
from www.shutterstock.com.auMei 4, 2015

Unpaid HELP debts are a problem, while super contributions may be lost. Should students use super to repay HELP?

It seems the desired effect of Pyne’s uni reforms is to stratify the system, making the top unis better and the middle-tier unis worse. A progressive tax would allow him to achieve this goal.
AAPMaret 4, 2015

There continues to be a lot of discussion about the future of tertiary education in Australia. Should fees be deregulated, places capped, interest on student loans charged at the bond rate? And on, and…

The Dawkins reforms to higher education in 1989 saw the creation of HECS and arguably the biggest shake-up of higher education the country had seen - but how did it come about?
AAPDesember 31, 2014

The release of the 1988-89 cabinet documents show that the Hawke government’s plans for Australian higher education were in some ways as radical as the policies that Education Minister Christopher Pyne…

Together with the government, the banking sector could play a role in easing the transition for mining workers.
Tony McDonough/AAPJuni 25, 2014

A decade of strong mining revenue growth has seen workers disproportionately located in the “mining states” of Queensland and Western Australia. With mining investment now waning, workers drawn by in the…

I love the free market. It means my morning cup of coffee costs roughly the same at almost all the coffee shops near campus. The free market is however ruthlessly efficient, even if it is largely responsible…

Our treasurer Joe Hockey is looking to cut the budget and where possible create a user-pays approach to spending. Universities and their graduates are an obvious target. In Australia we have the quite…

The idea of adding student income support to their HELP debt has been floated, but student debt is already high.
ShutterstockApril 7, 2014

A Grattan Institute report I co-authored highlights student debt costs, with the finding that the government could save $800 million a year by retrieving unpaid debts from deceased estates and students…

Would selling the student loan debt really be such a bad thing?
www.shutterstock.com.auMaret 31, 2014

The cost of the national student loan debt held by the federal government has gathered pace to pop the A$30 billion mark, perpetuating rumours that a debt sale could be on the cards. Should that happen…

After some speculation, this week education minister Christopher Pyne has said the Coalition has no plans to increase university fees. His comments come after much debate over selling the HELP – formerly…

Potential changes to the ownership of student loan repayments could make reform of the system more complicated.
Student loan image from www.shutterstock.comOktober 30, 2013

According to the budget papers, Australian students and former students could owe the government more than $40 billion in unpaid Higher Education Loan Program debt by 2017. Unsurprisingly, HELP, formerly…

Education Minister Christopher Pyne has flagged the possibility of selling off Australia’s HECS debt to help raise funds for the government.
Alan Porritt/AAPOktober 30, 2013

Education Minister Christopher Pyne has confirmed the government is considering securitising Australia’s HECS debt, and has referred the issue to the Commission of Audit. This has immediately attracted…